Mariners players blame themselves, not Bavasi, for team's poor performance

Plenty of finger-pointing took place in the Mariners clubhouse after the team's latest firing.

But those fingers were all pointed at mirrors.

Players whose abysmal on-field performance led to the dismissal Monday of general manager Bill Bavasi insisted they had no one but themselves to blame.

And those same players kept right on losing, dropping their fourth in a row and eighth consecutive home game, this one a 6-1 defeat to the Florida Marlins on Monday night. They continued to make the same mistakes, twice failing to score a runner from third base with less than two out.

With Bavasi, and hitting coach Jeff Pentland before him, now gone, many players realize they may be next on the firing line.

"Bavasi put a great ballclub together in the offseason, and because we're not playing the way we should be playing, he got fired," designated hitter Jose Vidro said before the game. "It's unfortunate for Bavasi to lose his job because we've been playing the way we've been playing. It's not our decision, but sometimes things need to be done to see what happens."

Mariners chief executive officer Howard Lincoln said earlier in the day that what would happen next would be players losing jobs if they didn't improve.

"My feeling is that the time has come and gone, really, for some of these players to get going," Lincoln said. "And I certainly hope and expect that this move will spur them on."

Lincoln suggested that all players should be fearing for their jobs on a last-place team with a payroll of $117 million. He added that no player — not even Ichiro — will be off-limits to other clubs and that "nothing's off the table."

Such talk came as no surprise to Mariners starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn.

"I approach each game that way every day," Washburn said. "I've seen enough in this game to know that nobody's safe."

Washburn said he figured Bavasi might lose his job the way the team was playing. Like most fans and media, he expected the Mariners to be contending this year.

"So it's not his fault," Washburn said of Bavasi. "It's ours."

Washburn went on to add: "There's not just one guy in here that's responsible and there's not one guy in here who's not part of that responsibility. You feel bad. That part of the game happens. It's been that way for years. People lose their jobs that aren't the ones responsible.

"Will firing Bill Bavasi make us play better? No."

But manager John McLaren, whose own job security remains tenuous, suggested changes are coming for players who don't produce right away. McLaren's first move Monday was a shift of Ichiro from center field back to right field.

And more will likely be coming.

"So far, nothing's made sense," McLaren said. "We've talked about it. You hate to see people lose jobs. If it works out that someone wakes up or whatever, good. But we all have to accept our responsibilities, to a man. We're way beyond — if there ever was any excuse, we're way beyond it. That's not even in the equation."

Earlier in the day, at a news conference after the firing, Bavasi suggested several of his players have talent but suffer from "white-line fever" and couldn't produce once they crossed the baselines and pressure was turned up.

"You can't force that on people, but I do think they need to grab each other by the throat once in a while," Bavasi said. "We've encouraged that."

But the players, he said, haven't responded. In hindsight, Bavasi thinks the biggest difference between this year's team and the 2007 version might be the departure of Jose Guillen.

"It's really ironic that the personality we're missing most is Jose Guillen," he said. "He could do some strange things at times, but his agenda — at the top of his agenda — was to win."

But there is no Guillen. No Bavasi anymore, either. Just a clubhouse full of players who insist they are trying hard, but can't get the job done.

"Going into this year, I was so excited to start the season," Mariners closer J.J. Putz said. "I thought I was finally going to get a taste of the postseason."

And like his teammates, Putz feels Bavasi is not at fault for that dream failing to materialize.

"Bottom line is, we're the ones to blame for all this," the pitcher said. "No one else. There's really nothing to say. I have no idea what's going on here. It's mind-blowing.

"It's one thing to struggle, but what's going on here right now, there's no way to describe it."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.